Other Maestros of the Micro

By HP-Time.com;Frederic Golden

Salesmen and seers, they are in the vanguard of the revolution

It took more than one man or one company, of course, to turn the personal computer into the engine that is powering a new communications revolution. Apple's Steve Jobs is the most famous maestro of the micro, but other personalities played key roles in bringing about the Year of the Machine:

John Opel: Shaking Up the Giant

If any three letters can be considered synonymous with computers, they are IBM. Still the world's dominant computer firm (and eighth largest industrial company in the U.S., with earnings of more than $3 billion...